Chapter 2 Of Interplay

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Culture

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the language, beliefs, traditions and customs people share and learn

A matter of perception and definition (you must not only share certain characteristics, but you must also recognize yourself and others like you as possessing these features and see others who don't possess them as members of different categories

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In-groups

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Groups with which we identify

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Outgroups

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Those we view as different

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Co-culture

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The perception of membership in a group that is part of an encompassing culture. Members of these culture often develop unique patterns of communication.

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Intercultural Communication

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The process that occurs when members of two or more cultures or co-cultures exchange messages in a manner that is influenced by their different cultural perceptions and symbol systems, both verbal and non-verbal

Accurate to talk about degrees of cultural significance

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Third culture

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When communicators find ways of connecting that account for, and even transcend, cultural differences to create a unique relationship shared by two or more people

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Low-context culture

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Uses language primarily to express thoughts, feelings and ideas as logically as possible. The meaning of a statement lies in the words spoken. Ex: the U.S., Canada, Northern Europe and Israel. See communicators with a high-context style as unexpressive or even dishonest

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High-context culture

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Relies heavily on subtle, often nonverbal cues to maintain social harmony. Rather than upsetting others by speaking directly, they learn to discover meaning from the context in which a message is delivered: the nonverbal behaviors of the speaker, the history of the relationship, and the general social rules that govern interaction between people. Ex: Most Asian and Middle Eastern cultures. Communicators with a low-context style can appear overly talkative, lacking in subtlety, and redundant.

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Individualistic Culture

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View their primary responsibility as helping themselves. Characterized by self-reliance and competition. Tend to view themselves in terms of what they do. Relatively tolerant of conflicts and use a direct, solution-oriented approach. Likely to produce and reward superstars, not team players. Ex: The U.S., Canada, Australia and Great Britain

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Collectivistic Culture

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Feel loyalties and obligations to an in-group and define themselves in terms of membership in an in-group. Concerned with the opinions of significant others. Less direct when it comes to conflict. Produces team players. Have a higher degree of communication apprehension. Ex: Latin American and Asian cultures

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Power distance

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The degree to which members of a society accept an unequal distribution of power

Ex: Differences in accepting authority in school (rote, by-the-book learning) and on the job (the amount of input employees have in their jobs)

The degree of power distance in a culture is reflected in key relationships (i.e. between parent and child, teacher and pupil, and employer and employee).

Low power distance: Austria, Denmark, Israel, and New Zealand
A belief in minimizing the difference between various social classes. Support the notion challenging authority is acceptable and even desirable.

High: The Philippines, Mexico, Venezuela, India and Singapore

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Uncertainty avoidance

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The degree to which members of a culture feel threatened by ambiguous situations and how much they try to avoid them.

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High uncertainty avoidance

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Deviant people and ideas are considered dangerous and intolerance is high. Especially concerned with security, so they have a strong need for clearly defined rules and regulations. Relationships are likely to fit into a predictable pattern. Imitation in products and ideas is high. Might view low uncertainty avoidance communicators as undisciplined, overly tolerant and lacking self-control. Ex: Belgium, Greece, Japan and Portugal

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Low uncertainty avoidance

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Less threatened by the new and unexpected to more likely to tolerate, and even welcome, people who don't fit the norm. Following established rules and patterns isn't necessarily expected and different behavior might even be welcomed. Innovation in products and ideas is high. Might view high uncertainty avoidance communicators as rigid and overly controlled. Ex: Singapore, Great Britain, Denmark, Sweden, Hong Kong and the U.S.

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Achievement culture

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Societies that place a high value on material success and a focus on the task at hand. "Hard" or "masculine" cultures. Prescribe different roles for women and men. Male values include assertiveness, independence and individuality and women who exhibit these traits may be viewed unfavorably for "acting like a man." Ex: Japan, Switzerland and Germany

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Nurturing culture

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Cultures that regard the support of relationships as an especially important goal. "Soft" or "feminine" culture. Little difference between the expected behavior for men and women: the ideal profile for both sexes is one of cooperation, and of holding the belief that personal relationships are at least as important as material achievement. Ex: The Scandinavian countries (Norway, Sweden and Denmark, Spain and France

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5 Key values that shape a culture's communication norms

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Power distance, individualist vs. collectivist, achievement vs. nurturing, high-context vs. low-context, uncertainty avoidance

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Verbal codes

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Language spoken and the worldview created by it and verbal communication styles

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Verbal communication styles

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Directness or indirectness, Elaboration or succinctness, Formality and informality

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Nonverbal codes

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Facial expressions, gestures, zone of personal space and eye contact

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Decoding messages

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Translation, Attributional Variations (ex: someone speaking in the standard dialect are judged as more competent, industrious and confident than nonstandard speakers), and Patterns of thought

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Patterns of thought

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The way members of a culture are taught to think and reason shapes the way they interpret others' messages.

Ex: A culture's system of logic
-Differences in ways of thinking are a matter of degree

Individualistic cultures: prize rationality and logical, linear thinking. Value the ability to be impartial and analyze a situation from a detached perspective. Rely on facts, figures and experts to make decisions. Tend to see the world in terms of dichotomies (good:bad, right:wrong, happy:sad, etc.)

Collectivist: More likely to be intuitive. Prefer to get a feel for the big picture and are less impressed by precision, classification or detachment. Less prone to see the world in either-or terms and accept the fact that people, things or ideas can be good and bad, or right and wrong at the same time.

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Three elements of intercultural communication competence beyond basic communication competence

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1) Motivation and attitude (since intercultural competition requires a sincere desire to communicate effectively with strangers)

2) Knowledge of how other cultures communicate

3) Skill: the ability to create and respond to messages effectively

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Requirements of motivation and attitude

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Tolerance for ambiguity and open-mindedness (a lack of ethnocentrism, prejudice and stereotyping),

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Ethnocentrism

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An attitude that one's own culture is superior to others, either privately or openly

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Prejudice

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An unfairly biased and intolerant attitude toward others who belong to an out-group (Root term in prejudice is prejudge)

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Stereotyping

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Exaggerated generalizations about a group (even generalizing cultures in terms of knowledge of cultural characteristics like individualist or collectivist can be problematic since not all members of a group are equally individualist or collectivist so its important to overcome preexisting stereotypes and learn to appreciate people from different backgrounds as individuals.

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Knowledge

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Communicators need to possess enough knowledge of other cultures to know which approaches are appropriate. Usually culture specific.

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Mindfulness

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Awareness of one's own behavior and that of others

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3 strategies for moving toward a more mindful, competent style of intercultural communication

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1) Passive observation (noticing what behaviors members of a different culture use and applying these insights to communicate in ways that are most effective.

2. Active strategies (reading, watching films, asking experts and members of other cultures how to behave, and taking academic courses related to intercultural communication and diversity.

3). Self-disclosure: Volunteering personal information to people fro the other culture with whom you want to communicate. (confession of cultural ignorance. Riskiest b/c some cultures do not value candor and self-disclosure as much as others.)

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Four dimensions of intercultural communicative competence

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1) Motivation and attitude
2) tolerance for ambiguity
3) Open-mindedness
4) Knowledge and skill